


So, Vampire?

by MoonbeamMadness



Series: After Hell [2]
Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Angst, Character Turned Into Vampire, F/M, Horror, Humor, Vampires
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-09
Updated: 2016-10-11
Packaged: 2018-08-20 09:40:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,433
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8244704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoonbeamMadness/pseuds/MoonbeamMadness
Summary: Levy and Lily are tasked with organizing and sorting the contents of a private Library for the Council. Unfortunately, it wouldn't be the first time they've taken their work home with them.





	1. The Library

The book slipped through her hands and struck the dust covered table with a light thud. Levy glanced at the red on her fingers and grimaced. Blood welling up under her thumb where she’d caught it on the old library code quill. The frown on her face very evident as Lily plucked up the book ‘Tales of the Vampire’ and scoffed at the cheesier than a cheese makers' cheese shelf illustration adorning the cover. A man with a cape towering over a kneeling woman, eyes bulging a little too much, dress torn and hands clutched together praying for mercy. Lily counted six fingers on one of her hands. He laughed internally. Vaguely recalling this one. There was now a bright red bloody thumb print on the first page where Levy had been in the process of scrawling a magically infused library code.

“Well, let’s hope no one notices,” She laughed absently, sucking her thumb in an effort to quell the blood flow.

Lily chuckled, “I wouldn’t worry about it. It’s a terrible book, and a clear plagiarized copy of a far better novel.” He remarked absently.

Levy grinned in an all too Gajeel way for Lily’s liking. “So, you read Vampire novels, Lily?” Her smile spread. “I didn’t peg you for a cheesy horror kind of guy,” She quirked an eyebrow at him.

He’d more than gotten used to it by now, though.

“I’m also partial to werewolves and ghost stories,” He deadpanned, although there was an amused light in his eyes. He knew better than to rise to the bait.

Levy sneezed and Lily sighed. The private library they’d been sent too had belonged once to a powerful mage known more for his reclusive and eclectic book collection than his powerful feats. He’d made his fortune catering parties for the rich and retired young to pursue his one true love; crappy fiction. He’d died of old age a number of weeks back and with no relatives to pass it over to, the man had left all his possessions to the Council. Levy had been charged with the task of cataloguing his library for anything interesting and Lily had needed some time to recover after a particularly nasty job with Gajeel. They’d arrived to find an expanse filled with more books than an individual could ever read in a lifetime, mostly trash, and entirely without any cataloguing system at all, which infuriated Levy. Write a number on the book with the code quill and you’d update the attached ledger with the name, author, code and a summary of the book. There was absolutely no excuse not to. This library wasn't a gift it was a last defiant act of posthumous revenge. It was going to take Levy a week to sort this out and at present it didn’t look like there would be much of anything in return for the effort.

“I've had enough of this,” The woman threw her hands up in the air and stood up abruptly. “I’m going home. They can have some people pack this all up and move it to the office. If there’s anything worth finding it can be found there. We can donate the rest. I highly doubt the council wants…”She picked up a random book, examining the cover and wincing. “…Forest of Forbidden Passion,” She wrinkled a dust filled nose at the title and the somewhat raunchy cover.

Lily nodded picking up the two meager books of interested they’d found out of the four hundred they’d already catalogued, stashing them in Levy’s satchel with the quill and, with a sly grin, the trashy vampire novel as well.

“Here,” He passed the bag to the script mage. “I’ll lock up and pick up some food on the way home if you’d like to rest a little?” He offered. Levy looked exhausted. And this coming from the cat that had seen his innards very much outside his body the week previous. This had meant to be an easy job but like most jobs these days they seemed to have a way of turning out for the worst. The woman was working herself ragged for the Council. “Gajeel is due back in the morning so if we still want to have any knives and forks left we should probably get him more than fruit for breakfast. I’m sure you’ll appreciate the peace and quiet before we have to face the latest ballad,” He joked.

Levy stifled a laugh. “He’d punch you if he heard you referring to them as ‘ballads’, but yeah…” Her face seemed to pale and the easy going smile faltered. “…I am pretty tired,” The smile returned. “I’ll go home and curl up with a book, maybe even risk a nap if you can do me a favor and pick up some of that spiced bread I like?” There was a mischievous glint in her eyes now. "Considering it's my last night of freedom and all."

Lily made a gagging noise. Gajeel had banned the bread from the house on account of an unfortunate, maybe even isolated case of flatulence that he blamed entirely on the stuff. He’d slept on the couch the last night she’d eaten it, cursing his ‘useless fucking dragon slayer nose’ or something along those lines. Lily reckoned that the small delicate looking woman had a stomach that made Gajeel’s iron one resemble wet paper. She was a lightweight when it came to the alcohol, but by the Gods could she eat some hellish things.

“Mi’lady has chosen.” He bowed to hide his grimace but was grateful she was going to get some rest as least.

* * *

 

She kicked off her boots at the door and shrugged off her jacket with them, flexing her toes in bliss and rolling her shoulders. She’d have probably worked herself to death if Gajeel and Lily didn’t pester her into getting some rest every now and then. She deposited the satchel on the kitchen counter and rummaged around in the cupboard for a snack but when nothing appealed she settled on some tea. In all the movement a corner of ‘Tales of the Vampire’ had slipped out of the bag, the bright reds and blues on the terrible illustration catching her eye.

“That sneaky little cat,” Levy laughed, pulling out the book and flicking through the pages. “Tea, blanket, trashy vampire novel…” She grinned widely. “Well, there’s my evening sorted,”

The council gear was hung up in her wardrobe amidst the carnage that was Gajeel’s version of organization and Lily’s desperate attempt to organize Gajeel’s version. Boots, pants and rumpled shirts all tumbled out and much too used to it, Levy just scooted them back in with her foot before forcing the door closed with a sigh. She was now having to throw almost her full weight behind that door again to get it shut. Not that she could complain about it. At least it was just laundry for him. He didn't clutter the rest of the house like she did. Now clad in nothing but her underwear she half danced to her dresser and pulled out one of Gajeel’s oversized t-shirts and the fluffiest socks she could find before pulling the comforter off the bed and dragging it to the couch, collecting her mug of tea on the way and curling up into a snug lump amidst the jumbo sized cushions; a trail of pillows and books that had been tangled on the bed left haphazardly in her wake.

Book in hand she started to read. It wasn't necessarily badly written but to her trained eyes it just read wrong. As though it was more a draft than the final thing. The book seemed to be centered round a somewhat emotionally frail aristocratic woman and her arranged marriage to a wealthy nobleman who, ding ding ding, turns out to be the Vampire of the story. Levy scoffed; the main characters seemed a little too vacuous for her liking. No character development. No personality. Boring dialogue. That, and Levy took particular exception to this, the female protagonist fainted at the slightest breeze and in three chapters had been saved twice by her childhood friend already, who of course just instantly hated the Vampire for no apparent reason. It was clear the book wasn’t so much about the woman's stand against evil, more so her friend fighting the vampire over her. Levy put the book down; choking on a mouthful of cooling tea as she tried to control the laughter.

“Oh no, no my friend, you are going into the pile in the office,” She rubbed her eyes tiredly. “Even _I_ have a standard,” She flipped through the pages of the book again, disbelief etched on her face. “I can’t believe that Exceed made it all the way to the end of this?” She laughed.

Setting the book on the coffee table with her mug she pulled the blanket up around her shoulders. The first chill of Autumn was on the wind and the days were starting to grow shorter; she could feel the cold creeping at the edge of the blanket.

Curled up she allowed herself to drift off to sleep, where dark dreams awaited.

 

 


	2. Getting Weird

When Lily returned home he found Levy curled up on the couch and frighteningly pale. “Levy?” He asked worriedly. The woman stirred beneath the comforter and he let out a breath. Leaving the food on the counter he went to check her; she was much cooler to the touch than she should have been and her skin had taken on a pasty colour.

“….mmmm…just a few more minutes…” She mumbled in her sleep and Lily frowned. Growing to his full size he plucked her from the couch and carried her to bed. She’d probably picked up something from that moldy library. One of the drawbacks to working as hard as she did was that when she finally did rest up she usually caught the first bug she encountered. Who knew what manner of things they’d inhaled in the last number of hours.

He tucked her under the covers and activated a warming lacrima, placing it near her feet.

“Would you like some tea, Levy?” He asked her softly but she’d already slipped back to sleep.

Lily returned to the kitchen and started making some soup. Hoping to make enough to curb Gajeel’s hunger in the morning, and if Levy woke up later that night it would probably be more welcome than his original plans for the ingredients. He took Levy’s bread out and placed it at the farthest edge of the counter away from him while he cooked. The devil bread was so potent with chilies and various other monstrously smelly crimes against vegetation that he’d to wash his hands after touching it or risk blinding himself the next time he put them near his face. The woman must have swallowed a titanium script to be able to eat it, he wagered.

Periodically checking on her throughout the night the Exceed noted that her condition wasn’t any better but wasn’t getting any worse. She slept soundly enough and when he was sure she wasn’t in any immediate danger he allowed himself to drift off.

Gajeel’s return the following morning was like the first cannonball on the battlefield. Front door slammed, boot steps so heavy, so loud, that Lily was sure the apartment below would be putting in a complaint with the landlord. He stood in the middle of the living room covered head to toe in blood and mud and an expression on his face promising murder. He sniffed the air and immediately stalked over to the kitchen area.

“ _What_ ….the _hell_ is this doing here??” He growled out; holding the chili bread aloft and throwing an accusing glare in Lily’s direction. “I thought we agreed?” He clenched his eyes closed for a moment to regain himself. “Did we not agree that there was never to be satan bread in the house again?” He asked through gritted teeth.

Lily put a finger to his face and shushed Gajeel. “Levy isn’t feeling well, I think we can indulge her a little and keep your voice down,” The Exceed took out a bowl for the dragon slayer and began heating the remaining soup, he topped this with a generous helping of regular bread. “She’s still asleep,” He reprimanded.

Gajeel was clearly hungry as he eyed the food. “She okay?” He asked taking the bowl. Lily didn’t let Gajeel’s manner irritate him. He cared. He just didn’t like showing it.

“It doesn’t seem to be more than a chill she’s caught,” Gajeel’s face didn’t relax the way Lily expected. “She just works too hard. I’d suggest letting her sleep in and she’ll probably be fine by tonight, but would you mind staying here just to check on her? I’m going into the council to keep up with her work and let them know she’s going to need a few days,” He asked.

Gajeel downed the soup in large mouthful. He’d already reported in with his superiors and was due a few days off. “I’ll be around,” He remarked offhandedly, but Lily smirked. The Exceed saw the worry in the lines on the man’s face. Levy would be smothered, he’d no doubt.

After checking in on her still sleeping form Gajeel had fallen asleep on the couch in the living room. His dreams were disturbing to say the least. He dreamt of death and blood, and of being chased by a shadow version of himself. When he finally woken up it had been to the godawful stench of old, dried blood. The smell was so potent he could almost taste it on his tongue. Glancing outside he determined that it was late afternoon already; the sun would start setting around five o'clock so it had to be close to that. It didn’t surprise him that he’d slept so long, considering he’d been awake for two days straight on the job but he was concerned that he still felt quite so exhausted. He needed a shower badly. _Levy first_ , _then shower_. He told himself. Heating up the remaining soup and bringing the devil bread with him he crept into the bedroom. She was still right where he left her, curled up and sleeping. He set the tray on the nightstand and gently shook the woman awake.

“Gajeel?” She mumbled through sleep laden lids. There was a little more red coloring to her lips than earlier and her skin was warmer to the touch than it had been. Gajeel decided that was a definite improvement.

He grinned, “Hey, Shorty. You’ve been asleep all day.” Levy smiled at him then recoiled. Covering her face with her arm.

“Oh by the gods you stink!” She coughed out.

After just a single moment of offense Gajeel laughed at her. “Not so fun when it’s the other way around is it, Shorty,” He motioned to the tray. “I brought you your devil bread and some soup. I’m gonna take a shower. Let me know if you need me,” He kissed her on the forehead and wandered out of the room laughing. He didn’t notice that even as he was leaving her nose was still covered by her hands and her eyes were fixed on the tray.

Maybe it was the military upbringing in the Exceed but the bathroom was never even untidy with Lily around. Officially, their bedroom was off limits to the Exceed's interference but Gajeel knew very well that Levy wasn't the one picking his stuff up. _They_ had a system of mutual understanding in the house. Levy didn't mention his shorts in the middle of the floor and he didn't mention sharing the bed with at least three or four books each night. Or the fact that his clothes were in her wardrobe to begin with because she'd taken over two drawers of his dresser for ancient tomes. The dragon slayer often wondered what the apartment would look like without the Exceed, considering Levy’s tendency to clutter and his aversion to the smell of cleaning products. As soon as his shirt came off Gajeel winced; he hadn’t even realised just how much he ached. There were fading bruises pretty much everywhere and his shoulders were so knotted he didn’t think he’d ever get rid of the tension. He’d come to rely a lot on Levy and Lily to watch his back in the middle of a fight and he’d taken a few knocks this time round.

The dragon slayer smirked. He didn’t do it very often due to time constraints but Gajeel turned off the shower and ran the bath. This was what he needed right now. A long soak. Levy was still resting and Lily wouldn’t be back for a few hours yet. Baths had been a luxury he’d been unaccustomed to until joining fairy tale but they grew on him. Laying back he felt the immediate sting of the hot water fade and warmth start to radiate all the way through to his bones. He closed his eyes and let out a deep breath, sinking further into the water. On the borders of awareness he heard the sound of the bathroom door creaking open that could only have been one person. He felt small hands slip over his shoulders and knead the muscles there. He couldn’t help the groan that slipped out. The dragon slayer had absolutely no idea what he’d ever done in his life to deserve a woman like Levy McGarden but he wagered it had to have been good. He slipped down into the water a little further, just until his nose was peaking above, all the while she worked her hands into the knots with a skill he'd no idea she possessed. He felt her breath on his ear before the brush of soft lips traced the iron studs there. Despite the warm water goosebumps moved down across his flesh and he smirked. An all too familiar sensation springing up in place of the muscle ache. Hands moved up his neck into his hair and pressed into his scalp massaging it and the dragon slayer felt his entire body melt. This was what he’d needed after the last few days.

He felt a playful nip at his earlobe before a much sharper one that was painful enough to jolt him to full consciousness. When he sat up he realized worriedly that he was completely alone. His heart racing. “Shrimp?” He called out but the bathroom was empty and the door was still closed. He put his fingers to his ear but there weren't even any marks. He briefly considered the notion that it had been some sort of dream but there was the phantom feel of soft hands still lingering on his shoulders. Officially too freaked out to continue he climbed out of the water. Vaguely aware that he still smelled a little but unwilling to leave himself vulnerable until he was sure of what was happening. The air beyond the hot water was freezing and he felt his skin prickle against the drop in temperature. It was much colder than it should have been and his extra senses were going crazy. Somewhere in the back of his mind he could tell something was wrong. A wordless voice was screaming in there ‘s _omething dangerous is coming’_.

Almost the instant that he pulled up his boxers there was a disappointed sigh right behind him and he heard Levy’s voice whisper his name. He spun, slipping a little, his hand steadying himself against the tiled wall as every sense sought her out in the dissipating steam. There was nothing. No smell of her. No sight or sound of her. He felt as though he might have genuinely imagined it but for the pit of foreboding curling tightly in his stomach. He dried himself hastily and threw on the clean t-shirt he’d brought before creeping out into the living room. The air was literally freezing out there. His shaky breaths coming out in clouds of white mist. It was so much colder in the apartment than it was outside that ice was already forming intricate patterns on the windows, on the _inside_ of the glass.

He heard her laugh and it seemed to come from nowhere and everywhere at once. He growled and the voice almost seemed to purr in response.

“The great Iron Dragon Slayer, Gajeel,” He felt her finger tips lightly caress his lower back but there was nothing there when he spun. The voice was hers but the tone held the promise of something sinister. “Am I frightening you?” She asked in mock innocence. As tiny and cute as she could be, trouble seemed to follow Levy McGarden like a festival procession. He didn’t bother responding. Words were never his thing, anyway.

Something lightly brushed his arm then, the sting it left in its wake and the hot trickle down to his fingers drew a hiss from him. Skin turned to iron and he bared a set of inhumanly long canines in a silent snarl. A shape took form in front of him. Hair like midnight, eyes like black coals rung with fire. Levy McGarden was not Levy McGarden, she was something else. He watched the woman suck her fingers clean, her eyes closed and an almost dreamy smile playing at her lips.

“That’s almost too good,” She hissed; a pleased expression on her face before her lips pulled back to reveal her own set of fangs. A moment of silence passed between them before she stepped forward and vanished into thin air only to reappear right in Gajeel’s face; clawed hands far, far stronger than a human gripping his shoulders, small feet pressed into his stomach with her face angling right for the jugular. He’d just about enough time to bring his hands up and brace them against her before he toppled backwards. One hand on her chest and the other around her throat. His own iron nails drawing blood from the almost translucent skin on her neck. He could hear the sound of her claws scraping against the scales protecting his arms as he found himself pinned underneath her. It only took a moment for him to realise with a heavy sense of dread that she wasn’t as strong as him, she was actually much, _much_ stronger. Sheer fading adrenaline was the only thing keeping her at bay and that was a fight he was losing. Her laughing face inching steadily closer. It crossed his mind that she was toying with him.

She bared her teeth at him and he did the same. He’d been raised by a dragon. He wasn’t going to allow this thing to frighten him.

There was a dark blur and to Gajeel’s relief the woman was ripped from her position and flung across the room. Her body vanishing into mist before it collided with the wall. Lily stood at full height, sword drawn despite the small area. Her laughter still echoing in the silence.

“Gajeel!” He rasped. “Are you okay?”

“I honestly have no fucking idea,” He snapped. The dragon slayer’s eyes darted around looking for the script mage but all traces of her had vanished. The atmosphere of the room started to slowly change, the cold dissipating with the knot in his stomach. Lily lowered his sword letting out a shaky breath.

“I am so stupid,” The Exceed exclaimed. “I’m an idiot to have thought that a book in a lunatic script mage’s library would just be a book,” He was rubbing his face in disbelief.

Gajeel was tired and confused. “What the hell is going on?” He asked clutching a bloody hand over his freely bleeding arm.

The Exceed wandered across the room and plucked the book from the coffee table and tossed it to Gajeel. The dragon slayer took a look at the cover and growled “Why is it always a book?” under his breath. Despite what people would say about him he wasn’t quite an idiot. “So Gajeel, your girlfriend is a fucking vampire,” He muttered to himself wearily.

Lily pulled the man’s arm up to examine the thin claw marks raked across the bicep. “These aren’t very deep,” The Exceed went to the kitchen and pulled a medicine box out of one of the bottom cupboards.

Gajeel sat still, blood running a little colder than he was used to while his partner bandaged the limb up. “You got any ideas on how we fix this?” Gajeel asked the Exceed.

Lily examined the dried bloody thumb print on the first page of the book carefully. “I don’t know. I’m not sure we could just burn it or destroy it. Vampires are essentially dead. If we just destroy it we may end up killing Levy, I fear the story might need to run its course,” He reasoned.

Gajeel flicked through a few more pages. “So what happens in the story?” He asked.

Lily paled, pausing and Gajeel glared at him. “If I’m not mistaken the antagonist bites the main character in the book trying to turn her into a vampire.” Gajeel raised one eyebrow at him, quizzically. “Then there’s some stalking and….before she truly changes she chooses to kill him. Breaking the curse and returning herself to normal,” The cat quickly shot out. “Then she elopes with her childhood best friend.”

“That’s a fucking terrible story,” Gajeel whined. “I ain’t killing Lev,” He ground out. He rolled his shoulders “And another thing, I ain’t gonna let her turn me into a vampire either. _Fine_ , I can’t destroy the book, but I sure as shit ain’t gonna play by its rules.” He stood and flexed his hands into a fist. “We’re going to find her. We’re going to trap her. And we’re gonna sort this out,” He reasoned.

Lily was strangely silent on the matter which concerned the dragon slayer deeply.

“I don’t mean to startle you by bringing this up, but…”The Exceed pointed to Gajeel’s throat where two small, neat punctures rested. “….it’s a bit late for that part, I’m afraid,” He whispered.

Gajeel’s mouth fell open and his hand shot up to his neck to prod at the tiny, almost imperceptible marks. The wound was already well on the way to healing. It looked to have been hours old at least. He’d fallen asleep on the couch. No wonder she’d looked a little less pasty when he’d checked on her.

“Fucking fantastic,” He sighed. “So, how long exactly do I have before things start getting weird?

 


End file.
